2015-2016 Educator Events

All of the following events are free and open to the public. They take place in our upstairs Children's Room and light refreshments are included. We provide certificates of attendance for teachers who can use these workshops for continuing education credits. To receive event announcements, and related resources, consider subscribing to our Educators Newsletter here.

Fall - 2015

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2nd at 9:30am

Early Chapter Book Materials Review Session
With Bear Pond Staff & Author Doug Wilhelm 

Learn about new books and series that will engage readers launching into chapter books that will appeal to a range of ages and appetites. Doug Wilhem (Treasure Town, Choose Your Own Adventure) will give a short talk from the author’s perspective on creating engaging early chapter books. This two hour presentation includes light refreshments, displays of new and upcoming books, and giveaways. These are becoming our most popular events of the year. You can see notes from previous sessions: Nonfiction Grades PreK-8 (Fall, 2014); Middle Grade & YA Novels (Spring, 2015).  

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18th at 11:30am

Reading Forts and Creative Microshelters with Deek Diedricksen

Deek Diedricksen is an expert on small homes and microshelters. His new book of photographs and designs, Microshelters, covers everything from garden structures to backyard toolsheds-turned-offices to play forts. In this short presentation he will focus on structures for kids, and particularly on reading forts and spaces to inspire creativity for children. A book signing will follow. A good event for librarians, teachers, and parents.       

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24th at 11:00am

Problem Solving in Stories with Nicole Griffin

Smashie McPerter is a problem solving third grader and star of Nicole Griffin’s new series from Candlewick Press, which debuted this year with Smashie McPerter & The Mystery of Room 11. In this workshop author, teacher and math consultant, Nicole Griffin talks about Smashie and using stories to teach problem solving skills. This workshop will focus on middle grade classrooms.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7th at 11:00am

(Re)Vision with Linda Urban and Melissa Guerrette

Local writer Linda Urban uses her newly published middle grade novel Milo Speck, Accidental Agent as a starting point for a workshop on classroom revision. Maine-based educator Melissa Guerrette joins Linda in this presentation and adds the perspective of a teacher working with authors in the classroom. This presentation is based on a workshop developed for the International Literacy Conference.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14th at 11:00am

Creating Heroes with Kekla Magoon & Will Alexander

How do you create a hero? And how do these fictional heroes affect the perspective of young readers? Vermont College of Fine Arts faculty members and award winning authors Kekla Magoon (most recently the revivor of Robin Hood through the new Robyn Hoodlum series) and Will Alexander (a 2012 National Book Award winner for Goblin Secrets) present a workshop on creating heroes and how that can inform and inspire the young reader and writer. This workshop is targeted to educators working with middle grade and high school age students.

Spring - 2016

Saturday, January 23rd, 11:00am - Noon

Cooking Experiments with Helen Labun

Cooking isn’t just about following a recipe and having it turn out “right.” There’s lots to explore with sensory perception, science, culture, history. . . in this workshop Helen Labun (author of Discovering Flavor) uses recently published cookbooks for kids to show possible learning activities involving food. Snacks will, of course, be provided. Very few items will be set on fire.

Saturday, February 6th, 11 am - Noon

Writing About Tough Topics for Kids - Author Panel

Panel with Kate Messner, Jo Knowles and Tamara Ellis Smith

Books and stories can be an important tool in helping kids cope with difficult situations. In this moderated panel, three authors speak about their experience writing about these tough topics - from natural disasters to the loss of loved ones - and the response from young readers.

Saturday, March 5th, 11 am - Noon

Genre Bending - Laura Williams McCaffrey & Tod Olson

Panel with Kate Messner, Jo Knowles and Tamara Ellis Smith

About boundaries between fiction and non-fiction in Children's Lit, a conversation with YA author/writing mentor Laura Williams McCaffrey and Scholastic author/editor Tod Olson. 

Friday, March 25th, 9:30 - 11:30 am

You Don't Need To Win a Prize to be Great - Materials Review

In our fourth Materials Review, Meg Allison (U-32 Librarian & DCF Committee Member), Carrie Fitz & Jane Knight (DCF Committee Member) will take a break from talking about Dorothy Canfield Fisher books and talk instead about great books that didn’t make the list.  Sometimes the perfect book for a young reader simply isn’t one that’s going to win a prize - so how do you find those overlooked books? The panelists will cover fiction and non-fiction titles for the middle grades, and also touch on how DCF books are selected. Event includes light refreshments, displays of new and upcoming books, and giveaways.

Saturday, April 9th 11:00 am - Noon

Poetry with VT Poet Laureate Chard DeNiord

Vermont’s new Poet Laureate Chard DeNiord has a goal of getting schools across Vermont engaged in poetry. He’s been involved in many poetry organizations, including the Next Stage Speaks initiative that he founded. He’ll speak about his experiences with Vermont students, in Vermont schools, and what opportunities there are for local teachers and librarians to bring poetry into their students' learning lives.